Ball.



PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES It. FLEISCHMAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BALL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 9, 1907.-

Application filed May 11,1906. Serial No. 316,247.

To all whom it may concern:

. Be it known that 1, CHARLES R. FLmscHMAN, a citi zen of the UnitedStates, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State ofIllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Balls, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in balls, and while it is moreespecially intended for use in that type known as inflated balls, whichare made of soft rubber or other flexible and air-tight material, andare inflated to give them the necessary or desired resiliency andrebounding quality, yet it is also applicable to balls of othercharacter and material, and it consists in certain peculiarities of theconstruction, novel arrangement, and operation of the parts thereof, aswill be hereinafter more fully set forth and specifically claimed.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a ball which soconstructed as to furnish simple, inexpensive and efficient means foreasily attaching a cord or other flexible connection thereto, in such amanner that the air chamber of the ball will remain air-tight, and theliability of that portion of the ball to which the cord is attachedbeing torn out by a great strain, will be reduced to a minimum.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for preventingdeflection in the movement of the ball, should it strike an object withits portion to which the cord is attached.

Various other objects and advantages will be disclosed in the subjoineddescription and explanation.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my inventionpertains, to make and use the same, I will now proceed to describe itreferring to the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is aperspective View of a ball embodying one form of the invention. Fig. 2is a greatly enlarged sectional view taken longitudinally through therecessed part of the ball. Fig. 3 is a view partly in elevation andpartly in section, showing the cord attaching means illustrated in Figs.1 and 2, and illustrating means for automatically sealing the ball afterit has been inflated. Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating amodification in the construction of the cord attaching extension, aswell as in the form of the body of the ball. Fig. 5 is a sectional viewof a portion of the ball shown in Fig. 4, taken transversely through thecord attaching extension. Fig. 6 is a fragmental sectional viewillustrating another modified form of the ball. .Fig. 7 is a fragmentalView in elevation of the ball illustrated in Fig. 6, illustrating bydotted lines the natural position of the parts and by continuous linesthe position thereof when it is compressed or depressed so that theopening can be formed in the cord attaching extension, or the cordinserted in said opening;andFig. 8 is a perspective view illustratingstill another modification in the construction of the cord attachingextension.

Like numerals of reference, refer to corresponding parts throughout thedifferent views of the drawing.

The reference numeral 10 designates the ball, which is preferably madeof soft rubber, but in some instances may be made of semi-solid materialsuch as spongelike rubber, and has in the outer surface of the thickenedpart 11 of its wall alined recesses 12, which are divided by means of acord attaching extension 13, which extends transversely across therecesses 12 and is formed integrally with the thickened or re-inforcedportion 11 and side walls of the recesses 12, which por tion and sidewalls constitute a part of the wall of the ball. As shown in Figs. 1 to3, inclusive, the extension 13 is provided with a transverse opening14:, in which is located a short tube or eyelet 15, of metal, throughwhich the cord may be passed and attached. This tube or eyelet has anannular flange 16 on each of its ends to hold it in position within theopening 14 of the extension 13 and also to prevent its edges cutting orwearing the cord, and is employed to 'prevent the cord cutting throughthe extension 13 or unduly stretching the same. As shown in Figs. 1, 2and 3 of the drawings, the recesses or depressions 12 are deepest attheir inner ends or the ends thereof adjacent to the extension 13, andgradually grow shallower towards their outer ends, and that the uppersurface of the extension 13 is flush with the upper sin-face of the sidewalls of said recesses, thus presenting practically a circular surfaceagainst which the ball may strike without deflecting the movementthereof.

In Figs. 4 and 5 is shown a modification in the construction of theball, which consists in forming it with an apertured extension 13 whichprojects outwardly from the surface of the body of the ball, as shown,and a series of ribs 17 which extend circumferentially on the outersurface of the ball from the extension 13 to a point diametricallyopposite the same. As shown in the last-named figures of the drawing,that portion of the ball on which the extension 13 is formed or providedis thickened or reinforced, and that the ribs 17 increase in size asthey approach said extension, yet diminish towards their other ends. Itwill also be observed by reference to Fig. 4, that the ends of the ribs17 adjacent to the extension 13" are not connected to said extension butterminate short thereof so as to provide spaces between said ends andthe extension so as to permit of the insertion of the cord through theopening 14 therein, yet that said ends of the ribs are of about the sameheight as the extension 13 so that should the ball strike an object withsaid portion the movement thereof will not be.

deflected.

In Figs. 6 and 7 is shown still another modification in which the ball10 is provided with a circular depression 18, from the center of whichrises an apertured extension 13 which projects at its outer end to alineabout flush with the rim of said depression. It is apparent when thismodified form is employed, the rim of the depression 18 may be depressedto the po sition shown by continuous lines in Fig. 7, which operationwill expose the projection 13 and permit it to be pierced or to allowthe cord to be passed through the opening therein.

In Fig. 8 is shown stillanother modification in the construction of theball, which consists in omitting the depression or recesses from theouter surface of the ball and forming or providing said surface with anextension 13, which has an opening 14 through which the cord may bepassed and fastened. In this last-named modification, it is apparentthat, that por tion of the ball on which the extension 18 is located maybe thickened or re-inforced so as to strengthen the ball at said point.As the thickened portion of the ball will have a tendency to overbalancethe same, I may use as a counterbalance therefor, as well as for thepurpose of sealing the puncture or punctures made by ahollow needle orinstrument used for inflating the ball, a piece of para or pure rubber19, which is located diametrically opposite the central portion of thethickened part or re-inforcement, as is clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 8of the drawing. It is evident that I may or may not use the short tubeor eyelet 15 in the openings of the cord engaging extensions, but preferto use the same on account of the durability afforded the parts by theemployment thereof.

Having thus fully described my invention what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters-Patent, is

1. A hollow ball made of soft rubber and having integral with the wallthereof a cord engaging extension, substantially as described.

2. A hollow ball made of soft rubber and-having integral with the wallthereof an apertured extension for on gagement witlra cord,substantially as described.

3. A ball having in its outer surface a depression and an apertured cordengaging extension located within said depression and extended at itsouter end flush with the portion of the ball surrounding the depression,substantially as described.

4. A ball having in its outer surface a depression and an apertured cordengaging extension located in said depression and extending at its freeend flush with the portion of the ball surrounding the depression, andan eyelet located in the aperture of said extension, substantially asdescribed.

5. A ball having a portion of its wall thickened and provided on theouter surface of said thickened portion with a depression, an aperturedextension located in said depression and extending at its free endoutwardly so as to be about flush with the portion of the ballsurrounding the depression, substantially as described.

6. A ball having in its outer surface alined recesses and an aperturedextension located transversely between said recesses and formedintegrally with the side walls and bottom thereof, substantially asdescribed.

CHARLES R. FLEISCI'IMAN.

Witnesses M. A. WYMAN, CHAS. C. TILLMAN.

